Key Terms: Chapter Seventeen

activity-based costing

(ABC) A costing system for situations where overhead is high and/or a variety of products are produced; costs are traced to activities and then activities are allocated to production

B2B

(Business to Business) A system that enables data interchange between companies; sometimes sufficiently robust to permit automatic inventory replenishment, etc.

budget

A planning tool that outlines the financial plans for an organization; there are various types of budgets -- operating, capital, and financial

CFM

Certified Financial Manager; a professional designation of competency in the field of financial management that is issued by the Institute of Management Accountants

CMA

Certified Management Accountant; a professional designation of competency in the field of management accounting that is issued by the Institute of Management Accountants

controller

The primary person responsible for the cost and managerial accounting functions

conversion cost

Cost components needed to change raw materials to finished goods, specifically direct labor and manufacturing overhead

cost accounting

The process by which an organization's cost is collected, assigned, and interpreted

cost of goods manufactured

The amount of cost attributable to goods reaching the end of production; beginning work in process (wip) + (direct materials, direct labor, manufacturing overhead) - ending wip

direct labor

Gross wages paid to those who physically and directly work on the goods being produced

direct material

The costs of all materials that are an integral part of a finished product and that have a physical presence that is readily traced to that finished product

ERP

(Enterprise Resource Package) Comprehensive database software that tracks an almost endless array of business and accounting data

finished goods

Finished goods represent the cost of completed products awaiting sale to a customer

IMA

Institute of Management Accountants; a professional association for management accountants that sponsors the CMA and CFM designations

inventoriable cost

product costs that attach to inventory

job costing method

A costing approach whereby actual labor and material is tracked for each job or product

M2M

(Machine to Machine) enables connected devices to communicate with each other

manufacturing overhead

all costs of manufacturing other than direct materials and direct labor (also called factory overhead)

period cost

A cost not attributable to the acquisition or manufacture of inventory; expensed as incurred

prime cost

Product costs that are direct in nature; direct materials and direct labor

process costing methods

A product costing method particularly well suited to situations where production occurs in a continuous process; costs are pooled and assigned to aggregate output

product cost

Costs that attach to a product; the summation of direct materials, direct labor, and factory overhead

raw materials

the components that will be used in manufacturing units that are not yet started -- also known as direct materials

RFID

(radio frequency identification) Micro processes embedded in inventory that emit radio frequency signals that enable a computer to automatically track inventory

scorecards (balanced)

A system for evaluating elements that are important to the organization and under the control of an employee holding that position

SG&A

Selling, general, and administrative costs; the period costs of the business

standards

Benchmarks against which actual productive activity is compared

theory of constraints

(TOC) Efficiency is improved by seeking out and eliminating constraints within the organization

total quality management

(TQM) A process for continuous improvement by focusing on customer service and systematic problem solving via teams made up of front-line employees

variances

Deviations from the norm that may provide warning signs of situations requiring corrective action by managers

work in process

Goods that are in production but not yet complete; an accumulation of monies spent on direct material, direct labor, and applied manufacturing overhead